JPH0513247B2 - - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a temperature data display device that stores temperature data obtained by continuously measuring the temperature of an object in an image memory and displays it as a two-dimensional image. .

[Prior Art] There is a thermography device as a device for acquiring a temperature distribution image of a measurement target. In a thermography device, infrared rays emitted from each point within the field of view are scanned and condensed and guided to an infrared detector, and the obtained infrared image signal is sent directly or via an image memory to a display device. As shown in the figure, temperature distribution image Z
is displayed.

As can be seen from Figure 6, there is a horizontal cursor on the screen of the display device that can be moved and superimposed on the temperature distribution image.
HC and a vertical cursor VC are displayed, and the temperature change along this cursor HC is displayed as a waveform Wh in the image Z.
The temperature change along the cursor VC is displayed as a waveform Wv at the left end of the image Z, and the temperature value at the intersection point CP of these two cursors is sampled, and the temperature value is displayed above the image Z. is displayed numerically.

If you want to measure and record the change in temperature value at this cursor intersection point CP over time, for example,
- As proposed in No. 186917, the temperature values may be sequentially displayed numerically on the same screen as the image Z, or the temperature at the intersection point CP sampled at regular intervals may be stored in memory and then, for example, It is conceivable to plot it as a temperature-time graph as shown in Figure 7.

[Problems to be solved by the invention] However, with this method, there is a limit to the number of temperature values that can be displayed on the screen, and even if a large amount of temperature data is stored in memory, it is difficult to plot all of it in a graph. The problem is that the time axis is extremely long and difficult to see.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and by sequentially storing sampled temperature values as pixel data in an image memory, reading out the stored data and displaying it as a two-dimensional image, it is possible to It is an object of the present invention to provide a temperature data display device capable of storing and displaying a large amount of data indicating temperature changes over time.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve this object, the temperature data display device according to the present invention includes means for continuously measuring the temperature of an object, and two an image memory for storing dimensional image data; a means for sequentially converting temperature signals obtained from the measuring means into digital signals; and a means for converting the temperature signals converted into digital signals into pixel data constituting a two-dimensional image a writing means for sequentially writing into the image memory one line at a time; a reading means for handling and sequentially reading out the pixel data stored in the image memory as image data; The present invention is characterized in that it includes an image display device that displays a two-dimensional image.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a thermography apparatus embodying the present invention. In FIG. 1, a camera unit 1 two-dimensionally scans and condenses infrared rays emitted from each point within its field of view to detect the infrared rays, and the obtained infrared image signal is sent to an image memory 3 via an A-D converter 2. sent and stored. Reference numeral 4 denotes a clock circuit that creates a pixel clock signal based on the horizontal synchronization signal from the camera section 1. Based on this pixel clock signal, sampling is performed in the A-D converter 2, and sequentially designated by the writing circuit 5. The sampled temperature data are stored one after another at the addresses in the image memory 3.

The temperature data stored in this image memory 3 is
It is read out at high speed by a readout circuit 6 and sent to a cathode ray tube (CRT) via a synthesis circuit 7 and a changeover switch 8.
Since it is sent to the display device 9, the temperature distribution image of the visual field photographed by the camera unit 1 is displayed in monochrome or color on the screen.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a cursor memory for displaying a cursor superimposed on this temperature distribution image, into which a horizontal cursor and a vertical cursor are written by a cursor writing circuit 12 based on cursor information from a cursor designating circuit 11. The written cursor data is read out at high speed by the cursor readout circuit 13 and sent to the CRT display device 9 via the synthesis circuit 7 and changeover switch 8, so that the horizontal and vertical cursors are superimposed on the temperature distribution image. It will be displayed.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a readout circuit that reads out temperature data along the horizontal and vertical cursors from the image memory 3 based on the cursor signal from the cursor designation circuit 11, and writes the read out series of temperature data into the waveform display memory 15 as a waveform. It is written as a waveform via circuit 16. This waveform display memory 15
The waveform data stored in is read out at high speed by a waveform readout circuit 17 and sent to a CRT display device 9 via a synthesis circuit 7 and a changeover switch 8.

Among the series of temperature data read out by the reading circuit 14, the temperature data corresponding to the cursor intersection point CP is sent to the image memory 1 through the writing circuit 18.
9 sequentially. The temperature data stored in the image memory 19 is read out at high speed by a readout circuit 20, and is sent to a synthesis circuit 21 and a changeover switch 8.
is sent to the CRT display device 9 via. 22 is a pulse generator that supplies write command pulses to the write circuit 18 at regular intervals.

23 is a cursor memory for displaying a cursor superimposed on the image stored in the image memory 19; this cursor memory includes a cursor writing circuit 25 based on cursor information from a cursor designating circuit 24;
writes horizontal and vertical cursors. The written cursor data is read out at high speed by the cursor readout circuit 26 and sent to the synthesis circuit 2.
1 and the CRT display device 9 via the changeover switch 8.
sent to.

Reference numeral 27 denotes a readout circuit that reads out temperature data along the horizontal and vertical cursors from the image memory 19 based on the cursor signal from the cursor designation circuit 24, and the readout series of temperature data is transferred to the waveform display memory 28 as a waveform. It is written as a waveform via the write circuit 29. The waveform data stored in the waveform display memory 28 is read out at high speed by a waveform readout circuit 30 and sent to the CRT display device 9 via the synthesis circuit 21 and changeover switch 8.

In the configuration as described above, the image memory 3 includes:
As shown in Figure 2a, 256 pixels per line, 1
256 x 256 pixels as screen 256 lines, 8 in depth direction
A storage area for each pixel (each temperature data is stored in 8 bits) is set, and the temperature data of each pixel obtained by scanning the field of view in the camera section 1 is
Stored in the corresponding position within the area with 8-bit dynamic range. Then, this data is sequentially rewritten with new data every time one screen is scanned, for example, once every second.

On the other hand, the cursor memory 10 and the waveform display memory 15 are also set with storage areas for 256 x 256 pixels, as shown in Figure 2 b and c, but these only indicate the presence or absence of the waveform or cursor. The depth direction is 1 bit.

The cursor memory 10 stores a horizontal cursor HC and a vertical cursor VC as shown in FIG. A cursor pattern consisting of is written. Further, based on the cursor data sent from the cursor designation circuit 11, temperature data along the horizontal cursor and vertical cursor (data along the broken line (cursor) in FIG. 2a) is read out by the readout circuit 14,
Waveform display memory 15 by waveform writing circuit 16
The horizontal waveform Wh and the vertical waveform Wv are written as shown in FIG. 2c.

The image data, cursor patterns, and waveform patterns written in the memories 3, 10, and 15 in this way are simultaneously read out by readout circuits 6, 13, and 17 in synchronization with the screen scanning of the display device 9, and are synthesized. Since it is synthesized in the circuit 7, the changeover switch 8
is tilted toward the synthesis circuit 7 side, the display device 9
As shown in Figure 6, the screen displays temperature distribution images Z,
The horizontal and vertical cursors HC and VC and the horizontal and vertical waveforms Wh and Wv are displayed in a superimposed manner. still,
Since the configuration for displaying the temperature value at the cursor intersection point CP is omitted, the temperature value is not displayed in this embodiment.

The above is the basic configuration of a thermography device equipped with an image memory.Currently, it is equipped with one or more sets of image memory, cursor memory, and waveform display memory, and is capable of displaying multiple temperature distribution images. Devices that can store information are also emerging.
The apparatus of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 also basically has such a configuration. For example, the image memory 19, the cursor memory 23 and waveform display memory 29 for displaying a cursor and waveform superimposed on the image stored in the image memory 19, and the writing and reading circuits around them are the image memory described above. 3. It has exactly the same configuration as the cursor memory 10, the waveform display memory 15, and the surrounding write circuit and read circuit, and can store another temperature distribution image by sending temperature data from the camera section 1. .

However, in this embodiment, the data of another temperature distribution image is not stored in the image memory 19.
Temperature data of pixels corresponding to the cursor intersection point CP in the image memory 3 in which temperature distribution image data is stored is sampled one after another at appropriate time intervals, and the series of sampled temperature data is sequentially stored. .

That is, among the temperature data along the horizontal and vertical cursors that the readout circuit 14 repeatedly reads and sends to the waveform writing circuit 16 for waveform display, only the temperature data Dcp at the cursor intersection CP is also sent to the writing circuit 18. The write circuit 18 receives a pulse from the pulse generator 22 periodically (for example, at 1 second intervals).
The temperature data Dcp is sequentially stored in the image memory 19 in the same way as normal image data based on the write command pulse sent to the image memory 19. Therefore, for example, after one hour, Dcp1 to Dcp3600
The temperature data of 3600 cursor intersection points CP are sequentially stored in the image memory 19 as shown in FIG. If the changeover switch 8 is turned toward the synthesis circuit 21 side, an image based on these 3600 pieces of temperature data will be displayed on the screen of the display device 9, as shown in FIG. 4, for example, and one pixel will change every second. You can see the display points increasing, and by following the changes in brightness or color on the scan line of this image, you can determine the temperature change over time of the pixel corresponding to the cursor intersection point CP. can.

Moreover, at that time, if you operate the cursor designation circuit 24 and align the horizontal cursor with, for example, the third scanning line L3, the displayed horizontal waveform Wh will be the data from 513 seconds after the start of measurement to 768 seconds after the start of measurement.
Dcp513 to Dcp768 are shown as waveforms,
It is possible to understand temperature changes over time much more clearly than by tracing changes in brightness or color on a scanning line.

Also, if you place the vertical cursor at the 10th pixel from the left end of the image, the displayed vertical waveform Wv will be composed of data Dcp10, Dcp266, Dcp522, etc., and will be spaced at intervals of 256 seconds. The temperature change can be clearly understood from this vertical waveform.

Furthermore, as mentioned above, the mechanism for displaying the temperature value at the cursor intersection point is omitted in this embodiment, but if this mechanism is attached to the image memory 19,
By moving the cursor intersection to an arbitrary position, individual temperature data stored in the image memory 19 can be displayed on the screen as a temperature value.

Furthermore, if the temperature of the object to be measured within the field of view changes repeatedly, for example at a cycle of 256 seconds, this temperature change and the writing of one line of temperature data to the image memory 19 will be synchronized, so that the temperature data will not be displayed. The horizontal waveform shows the temperature change in one cycle, and the vertical waveform shows the temperature change in a specific phase within one cycle. Expanding this, when the period of temperature change of the object to be measured is T, by setting the oscillation period of the pulse generator 22 to T/256, it is possible to always perform writing in synchronization with the temperature change of the object to be measured.

As a variation of this, for example, if the temperature of the object to be measured is changing repeatedly at a cycle of 200 seconds, writing is performed every second, and after 200 seconds, the line in which the data is written is forcibly changed to a new line. You can also make it . This will make the right edge of the image 56
Although the number of pixels will be lost, it is possible to write with the same phase.

In addition, as explained above, when writing the temperature data Dcp to the image memory 19 is 1 second, which is the same as the cycle of one screen scan in the camera section, the pulse generator 2
2, a vertical synchronization signal may be sent from the camera section 1 to the write circuit 18, which allows more reliable synchronization. Also, pulse generator 2
If the oscillation period of 2 is set appropriately, temperature data Dcp can be sampled at any time interval and stored in image memory 1.
Needless to say, it can be written to 9.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 described above, since the camera unit 1 always performs two-dimensional scanning, the temperature data at the cursor intersection point CP is rewritten every time one screen is scanned, making it possible to capture faster temperature changes at CP. Can not. FIG. 5 shows an embodiment that makes this possible.
The difference from the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is that in the embodiment shown in FIG. A selection circuit 32 is provided, and the temperature data of the specific point CP retrieved by this is sent to the writing circuit 18 and stored in the image memory 19. The point is that one-dimensional scanning (line scanning) can be switched and executed.

When measuring, first turn on the switch 3 above.
1 and 8 to the image memory 3 side, one screen worth of temperature data obtained by two-dimensional scanning of the camera section 1 is stored in the image memory 3 in the same way as in Fig. 1, and the temperature distribution based on the temperature data is calculated. The image is displayed on the screen of the display device 9. The operator can move the cursor by operating the cursor designation circuit while observing this image and set the cursor intersection point CP at a desired position. Next, the camera unit 1 is switched to line scanning mode, and the line scanning is set to be performed at a position corresponding to the previously set horizontal cursor. This setting may be performed manually by the operator, but it may also be set automatically by stopping the vertical scanning mechanism of the camera unit 1 based on data on the display position of the horizontal cursor, for example.

When this setting is completed, the camera section 1 repeatedly performs line scanning on a line that includes a point within the field of view corresponding to the cursor intersection point CP. This line scanning can be performed, for example, at a cycle of about 1/120 seconds, and therefore, the A-D converter 2 obtains temperature data of 256 pixels for one line every 1/120 seconds. It will be done.

Next, changeover switches 31 and 8 are set to image memory 19.
When tilted to the side, this temperature data is sent to the selection circuit 32, which selects the temperature data Dcp of the pixel corresponding to the cursor intersection point CP from the temperature data of 256 pixels for one line based on the display position data of the vertical cursor. It is selected and sent to the write circuit 18. The write circuit 18 stores data Dcp at this temperature into the image memory 19 one by one each time a write pulse is sent from the oscillator 22, just as in the embodiment shown in FIG.

If the oscillation period of this oscillator 22 is set to 1/120 seconds, the temperature data at the intersection point CP obtained each time the camera unit 1 scans one line will be sequentially written to the image memory 19. Changes over time can be recorded at 1/120 second intervals. In this case, since the line scanning period and the writing period match, it is possible to use the horizontal synchronizing signal generated from the camera section 1 as a writing pulse to the writing circuit 18.

Furthermore, if the temperature at the intersection point CP changes repeatedly with a period T, the oscillation period of the oscillator 22 is set to T/256, as described in the explanation of the embodiment shown in FIG. The periodic temperature change can be written into the image memory 19 as one line of temperature data.

As a variation of this, for example, the measurement target is (1/120)
If the temperature is changing repeatedly at a cycle of ×200 seconds, writing is performed every 1/120 seconds, and
As mentioned in the explanation of the embodiment in FIG. 1, it is also possible to forcibly change the line in which data is written every time 0) x 200 seconds elapse.
It is possible to write in phase.

The temperature data stored or being stored in this way is displayed on the display device 9 as in the embodiment of FIG.
Since it is displayed on the screen, it is possible to grasp the rapid temperature change at the specific point CP as an image, and by moving the cursor appropriately, it is possible to accurately observe the temperature change as a waveform.

Also, although the mechanism for displaying the temperature value at the cursor intersection point is omitted in this embodiment, if this mechanism is attached to the image memory 19, by moving the cursor intersection point to an arbitrary position, the temperature value can be displayed in the image memory 19. The stored individual temperature data can be displayed on the screen as a temperature value.

Furthermore, in the two embodiments described above, two-dimensional or one-dimensional
Although the present invention has been implemented in a thermography device that performs dimensional scanning, the temperature data stored in the image memory is temperature data at a specific point, so it is difficult to apply the present invention to a temperature detection element such as a radiation thermometer or thermocouple that does not have a scanning mechanism. Therefore, it is also possible to continuously measure temperature data at a specific point and sequentially store the temperature data in the image memory.

[Effects of the Invention] As described in detail above, according to the present invention, continuously measured temperature values at specific points are sequentially stored in an image memory as pixel data, and the stored data is read out to create a two-dimensional image. By displaying the temperature data as an image, a novel temperature data display device capable of storing and displaying a large amount of data indicating temperature changes over time at a specific point is realized.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 and 5 are block diagrams showing an example of a thermography apparatus embodying the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the storage areas of the memories 3, 10, and 15, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the temperature Figure 4 shows how data is stored in the image memory.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a screen displayed as a dimensional image, FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the display screen of a thermography apparatus, and FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example in which temperature changes over time are plotted as a graph. 1... Camera section, 2... A-D converter, 3, 1
9... Image memory, 5, 18... Writing circuit,
6, 14, 20, 27...readout circuit, 7, 21
...Synthesis circuit, 8...Selector switch, 9...
CRT display device, 10, 23...cursor memory,
11, 24...Cursor specification circuit, 15, 28...
...Memory for waveform display, 22...Pulse generator.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Means for continuously measuring the temperature of a target;
an image memory for storing two-dimensional image data of (pixels/line)×m lines; a means for sequentially converting the temperature signal obtained from the measuring means into a digital signal; and a temperature signal converted to the digital signal. writing means for sequentially writing pixel data line by line into the image memory as pixel data constituting a two-dimensional image; reading means for handling and sequentially reading out the pixel data stored in the image memory as image data; A temperature data display device comprising an image display device that displays a two-dimensional image based on pixel data read out by a reading device. 2. The temperature data display device according to claim 1, wherein writing of each line into the image memory by the writing means is performed in synchronization with repeated temperature changes of the object.